Saturday, May 31, 2008

Antonio esta Magnífico

In case you didn't know already, Antonio's daddy is kind of a dork. Here is Antonio trying out the one line I've written for my spanish language comedy telenovela.

Antonio also enjoys dancing to his new favorite balloon song. We can only hope that High School Musical isn't still popular in a few years when Antonio can sing along with the music.

Ay dios mio, indeed.

Memorializing Antonio's Memorial Day

Antonio took us up to the island for the holiday weekend. It was great for the kids to get to see cousin Elijah, who is on the go all the time with a smile on his face. But Antonio didn't want to stay inside all weekend. He put on his boots and hit the town. He wanted to get to the lake, and he didn't want to wait for us to drive him. Grandma introduced Antonio to the local neighborhood kid statues:
The local neighborhood dog-with-a-lantern-in-its-mouth statue:
Then showed him the awesome surprise she had waiting for him at the lake. Green sand!


While at the lake, Antonio took proper precautions and made sure to wear his life jacket at all times.

Even when he and cousin Elijah were just dipping their toes in the baby pool.
The entire family gathered around to watch the boys play.
And when I got done with my golfing, the two of us boys played in a different way. Antonio kind of enjoys being upside down. There's a pretty good chance he's going to be a trapeze artist when he grows up. That or a professional giggler, because he's pretty good at that, too.

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Happy Birthday to Dad

Since it is Jeff's birthday Antonio decided he would post a little Happy Birthday blog to his old man...(with the help of mom).


Happy 35th Dad!
Here's a little video of Antonio and his friends....his imagination is so fun to watch!

Friday, May 16, 2008

American Teenager? Watch Out for American Toddler

Antonio made his appearance on the 'set' today and just in time for my birthday celebration. Yes, I know what you're thinking, and that's exactly what happened. My co-workers wallpapered my office with pictures of David Naughton.
And yes, they also made up a coffee mug with David Naughton's picture (circa 1979) on it.
Needless to say, it's a long story. Don't ask. But here's a little video to tide you over. Enjoy.


It's been great that Antonio and Debbie spent the week down here with me. It's been great to see them in the morning and then when we wrap for the day. I think Antonio's had a pretty good time as well. We will do a more thorough post of the week's activities when we get home tomorrow, but here is Antonio checking out the "INT. HIGH SCHOOL HALLWAY - DAY" on stage 29.
Oh, and here's your first reminder. The Secret Life of the American Teenager -- Tuesday, July 1. 8pm. ABC Family.

Happy Mother's Day

So, for Mother's Day, I gave Deb the gift of flying to LA with Antonio on her own. What isn't that what every mother wants, to travel alone with their toddler?



Luckily, this toddler is a super star traveler...of course upgrading to First Class on Alaska Airlines makes it a bit easier.

After the flight, they got to come see where I've been camping out these past months in LA and meet all the family. He immediately took to Christine, who is long, tall princess, just like Havana -- except for the "long, tall" part.Antonio's arrival in Toluca Lake coincided with the arrival of Wally and Charlie, two new additions to the family.

He's helping to train the puppies to share their food. They think he's one of them. He thinks he's one of them, too.

It's been rough for Antonio. The weather's been beautiful and the pool's been perfect. It's a tough life for the kid.
But Antonio's favorite time of the day is when he wakes up from his nap and Tsegaye and Danny are home from school. He loves playing with the big kids, and they have been so great with him.

When Antonio's not swimming himself, he still enjoys the water activities.

It' hasn't been all fun and games. He's learning some valuable things as well. For example, Zoe's teaching him how to set the table.

And he's learning that when he uses utensils correctly, he gets a lot of encouragement and praise. So he's been doing that consistently for the first time as well.

Antonio has made himself right at home here. It'll actually be hard for him to leave tomorrow.

Taxi!

With just one day to go before the big adventure to LA, Antonio and Deb set out for his first ride on the Water Taxi. Talk about a Seattle adventure....and the tug boat races were going on too.

On the other side of the Water Taxi is the Aquarium and Deb and Antonio decided to join so if anyone wants to come with him to see the fish come on down! Uncle B, you're invited....


Thursday, May 08, 2008

Discovery Adventure

Antonio and La La went on a field trip to Discovery Park. It was a great afternoon of hiking.
Digging in the dirt.
And standing on the dirt.
It was a lot of fun. As pretty much every field trip with La La is. And then after the park, Antonio made his way back home, where Havana was a little excited to see him.

Tuesday, May 06, 2008

We Are Family

Believe it or not Antonio has more family than you have seen on this very blog...this kid is so lucky. I mean, I have less family than Havana. He has no idea.

So after a long day at the beach we drove to Snoqualmie to visit Deb's Tia Maria (who has appeared in the blog, Jan 2007).


















While Antonio had been to Grand-Tia's house before he hadn't met Natalie, Deb's youngest cousin, who he immediately became fond of.















You may not be able to tell, but Antonio crawled into her lap.




























He spent much of his visit with that loving grin at Natalie. But that wasn't the only girl cousin around, he also met his cousin Mollie who is just four months older than him.














We had a great visit with Deb's cousins and Tia Maria. Uncle Bruce and the surprise guest Tia, I mean Grand-Tia Lizzie!

But for Antonio the best part of the visit was kissing everyone good-bye! With enthusiasm....

I think Tia Liz was just as excited as he was....but to her surprise he was just as enthusiastic about everyone he kissed.

Buckets and Boots

We've all seen the movie Parenthood right, well sometimes the kid just wants to wear the bucket to Costco. And sometimes it is better to let him.













Now that I'm home only on weekends, Deb and I try to do the family fun stuff so I can see some of Antonio's fun new springtime ventures...besides Costco.

As you know Deb and Antonio have been going to Alki a lot but this was the first time Antonio wore his cool rubber boots and luckily the tide was out so it was a great plan.













I told Antonio there are a lot of cool treasures to find at the beach like shells and dinosaurs. (sorry kid that left your dinosaur at the beach)













There are some better videos but they are way too long to post. Don't worry there will be more beach adventures....